In Acts 19 Paul encounters about twelve men in Ephesus who were clearly disciples, but disciples of whom? Jesus? John the Baptist? Scholarly debate has tended to centre around whether these men were truly Christians or not because Paul re-baptizes them. Or it rages around the significance or otherwise of the charismatic phenomena that then takes place. And more than a few commentaries speculate how it was that the teaching of John the Baptist came to Ephesus. Here’s what happens:

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
“No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
“Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them.
“Into John’s baptism,” they replied.
Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.”
When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. Now there were about twelve men in all.

– Christian Standard Bible Acts 19:1–7.

I’m very hesitant in advancing a theory that doesn’t appear in any of the commentaries because more often than not, that means it’s wrong. Yet, despite that large warning, I still think this idea has a lot going for it. It is at least worth while thinking it through and then letting people show me the errors of my ways. That’s how Apollos learned and it’s good enough for me.

Here’s the thesis: the dozen Ephesian men weren’t disciples of John the Baptist at all but were instead disciples made by Apollos.

I don’t think it is a very difficult argument to follow but here’s my reasoning:

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

– Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Ac 18:24–26.

Apollos is in Ephesus, Paul is in Galatia. Apollos goes to Corinth, Paul comes to Ephesus. At this point there seems to be no overlap.

While Apollos is in Ephesus he is clearly engaged in public ministry, for he was ‘speaking & teaching’ and ‘spoke boldly in the synagogue’. It is very likely, given how persuasive Apollos clearly was, that people responded to his message and his preaching. But Apollos’ message has some shortcomings: ‘he knew only John’s baptism‘. And that would clearly seem to be the area that Priscilla and Aquila straighten him out on. He does know who Jesus is but he doesn’t know the baptism that only Jesus can give. He only knows John’s baptism.

And what is the main issue that Paul encounters amongst the dozen disciples? “John’s baptism“.

As Paul explains John’s baptism is one just of repentance. The baptism of Jesus is repentance AND life through the Spirit.

Priscilla and Aquila likely catch Apollos because they, like him, were Jews and their life and ministry still centred around the synagogue. Paul initially did the same when he returned to the city. But there’s no church yet and Ephesus is one of the largest cities in the Empire. There’s maybe as many as 250,000 people or perhaps more. It is not at all guaranteed that everyone reached by Apollos would also be known to Priscilla and Aquila. These men have to wait a little longer to receive the fuller picture.

So were the dozen disciples of Jesus? Well, was Apollos? Yes. Was their understanding and experience incomplete? Well, was Apollos’? Yes. Did it get straightened out by more mature believers? Yes, in both cases.